Comics for Grown-Ups

When I was a kid in the early '60s in Maine, the highlight of my week was taking my allowance to the Freeport Variety Store, next door to then-humble L.L. Bean, where  I bought  Superman comics as if it were my mission, and other comics as well.  I founded my own comic book library in my bedroom, keeping my precious collection in a locked glass bookcase and signing them out only to worthy neighborhood kids.  I demanded late fines, and got them.  One year at Eastertime I decided I needed to make a sacrifice for Lent and threw all my beloved comics away, denouncing them forever.  Ah, youth!  To my delight, comics live again, more vibrantly than before.

Comic books have split into two genres: the traditional format featuring superheroes and characters such as Charlie Brown and the graphic novel.  "Graphic novel" is something of a misnomer since some graphic novels are derived from works of fiction and others are not.  In the old days I was very fond of the "Classics Illustrated" series, comic-style versions of Ivanhoe,  Jane Eyre, Kidnapped and so many others.  Now in book form you can find not only classics, but new fiction by contemporary authors such as Janet Evanovich, Stephenie Meyer and Joe Hill.  Another especially effective use of the graphic novel is the memoir.

In A Good and Decent Man You'll Never Know, C. Tyler describes her father's WWII experiences, her childhood, her struggles raising her daughter and her growing realization of war's long-term effects on soldiers and their families.

David Small recalls his freakishly dysfunctional childhood in Stitches.  At 14 years old he is diagnosed with throat cancer, most likely caused by radiation treatments administered by his father, a doctor.  David suffers a botched operation which leaves him mute and scarred.  His eventual triumph as a whole human being and professional artist is truly inspirational.

Alison Bechdel's unnerving and darkly humorous Fun House explores her icy relationship with her father, a funeral director, distant parent and closeted homosexual.

Iranian native Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis is a wise, funny and heartbreaking memoir of growing up during the Islamic revolution.  The child of Marxist parents and the great -granddaughter of one of Iran's last emperors, Marjane makes real the enormous toll repressive regimes exact on the individual spirit.

As you can see, many graphic novels are far from comic. They are innovative, imaginative and uniquely expressive in the synergy created through text and art.  Come to the library and see for yourself.   They have their own section at the end of the regular fiction section.  No need to feel guilty: it's not comics, it's literature!